The City of Bartlett has announced its 2016 Employees of the Year. The five winners were named at the April 25 city board meeting, where honorees received awards, bonus checks, certificates and placement of their names on a city hall plaque.
They include:
- Police Department: Detective Michael Christian, a 14-year veteran currently assigned to the narcotics division. He was honored for his hard work to locate and arrest heroin dealers. In November, he initiated a heroin investigation that resulted in four search warrants being served. The searches turned up stolen firearms, 8 ounces of heroin, 2 ounces of cocaine, 1 ounce of crack cocaine, codeine syrup and nearly 300 tablets (a mix of Ecstasy, hydrocodone and oxycodone).
- Parks and Recreation Department: Paul Wright, program manager for the Bartlett Recreation Center. He has worked for the city for just over two years. He was praised for his work ethic and how much effort he puts into his job. He runs the Kids’ Night Out program and the nightly Gym Games, and he manages all the senior potlucks, breakfasts and brunches. He also coordinates the summer camp program, helps with several events and is in charge of the Kids’ Triathlon and the Small Fry Tri (a triathlon for children ages 2-6). He also won the Tennessee Recreation and Parks Association’s 2016 Four-Star Award in the Special Events category for the Small Fry Tri.
- Public Works Department: Michael Pierce, who has worked for the city for more than 28 years. He has held almost every position in the Solid Waste Division, including utility worker, driver 1, driver 2, crew leader and field supervisor. He was recently promoted to division manager. He was praised for developing many of the procedures that the division uses today and for being a smart, helpful and courteous employee.
- Fire Department: Jeff Burross, a driver on Truck 1 at Station 1 for the A shift. He’s worked for the department for almost 13 years. He is an approved backup fire lieutenant with a record of good service and a reputation as a stabilizing force for the department.
- Remaining departments: Debbie Cairncross, the purchasing agent in the Finance Department for the past two and one-half years. She’s benefitted the city through the proper issuance of requests for proposals (RFPs), bid advertising and handling of vendor negotiations. She works closely with other departments to ensure the best possible bid reviews for their projects. One recent critical project was the new two-way radio project, where she was instrumental in guiding the RFP submission, review and selection of the contractor. She has been involved directly or indirectly on more than 150 projects or bids so far in her tenure with the city.
